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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26594572">Blood Is Thicker Than Oil</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lapis01/pseuds/Lapis01'>Lapis01</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mechanical Heart [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Hurt Donnie, Hurt/Comfort, Not T-cest, T-Cesters Keep Away</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 02:54:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,655</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26594572</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lapis01/pseuds/Lapis01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Donnie is having a hard time coping with his new body. After all, knowing that you died and now are living your life as a robot is pretty worrisome. Thankfully, Donnie has a family that loves him more than anything.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mechanical Heart [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1917616</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Mikey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>If you ship T-Cest, then get off my profile immediately. You are not wanted here.</p><p>I highly recommend you read the first fic in this series before reading this one! That way you know what's going on with Donnie!</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mikey decides to check in on Donnie.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Metallic fingers reached for a nearby screw driver. Once it was in his grasp, Donatello began tightening the bolts on the project in front of him. He didn't even know what he was working on, but doing something was better than nothing. He needed to focus on anything other than his new body.</p>
<p>Someone had entered the lab. The soft padding of footsteps against the metal floor alerted him as much. Donatello didn't even need to look up to know who it was.</p>
<p>"What is it, Michael?" His filtered mechanical voice still caught him off-guard. He needed to tweak it some more- make it sound more natural. Donnie finally tilted his helm up, optic falling onto his brother. He couldn't quite decide if the younger was there to check in on him, or if he really needed something.</p>
<p>"I woke up," Came Mikey's soft reply. Donnie could see the bags under his eyes, even with the orange mask that covered a good portion of his face. </p>
<p>Donnie didn't buy his brother's statement for even a second, but he decided to keep that to himself as the younger side steps around him. Don let out a soft vent as Mikey threw his arms around him and rested himself against the metal of his frame. He could feel the pressure of Michael's arms against his frame, but he couldn't... It bothered him that he couldn't feel the texture of his brother's skin. A sudden clang drew Donnie's attention. His screw driver was on the floor now. He stared at it for a moment, confused. A glance down to his hands revealed that they were shaking- which obviously had to be a glitch. He needed to fix that. </p>
<p>"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Mikey's grip seemed to tighten as the younger rested his head against Don's shoulder pauldron. His immediate thought was how uncomfortable he must feel to rest against. Leaning against soft skin was one thing, but leaning against hard metal? There was no way Mikey could be comfortable.</p>
<p>Thankfully, Michael's question was able to distract him for a moment. "I-.." Did he really need to bore Mikey with the logistics of not needing sleep, but instead needing to recharge? Donnie mentally went over the process, which involved plugging a cord into the back of his helm and powering down for a few hours- which wouldn't be comfortable for Mikey. "You can take my bed, if you want," he finally replied. "I'll sit with you."</p>
<p>Mikey moved suddenly, catching the older turtle's attention. Don froze as smaller hands suddenly grabbed onto his own. They still shook within the younger turtle's grasp, but considerably less than before. Donnie carefully curled his metal fingers over top of Mikey's, unable to meet the other's gaze. He peered off to the side with uneven optics, right optic- the one resembling a blue X- dimming slightly. (The blue X wasn't supposed to be permanent- he had only built it because he didn't have the parts to create an optic like his left one-, but it had grown on Donnie as time went on.) They sat like that for a long time- Mikey giving him a small smile as Donnie peered off to the side. It was... nice.</p>
<p>"I'll meet you back in your room. I just gotta grab an extra pillow first," Mikey hummed after a long silence. He gave Donnie one last smile before taking his hands back and standing up.</p>
<p>Donnie finally lifted his helm to watch as his younger brother withdrew his hands. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness at the loss of his brother's touch, even if he couldn't actually feel the hands that he'd held within his own. "Alright," He replied, watching as Mikey scurried off. The metal turtle went about pushing his discarded project off to the side before silently making his way to his bedroom. It wasn't long before he registered the sound of Mikey's return. He eyed the pillow and duct tape, now within his brother's grasp, with mild confusion. </p>
<p>"Here, we can attach it to your shell, so you’ll be comfier," Mikey announced. There was a hopeful look on his face.</p>
<p>"You.. want me to lay with you?" Donnie gestured vaguely at himself, as though that was enough to get his point across. "I don't-..." If he could frown, he would. "Once I power down, I'm just going to be a lifeless hunk of metal. It won't be comfortable."</p>
<p>Mikey paused at that. Donnie began to feel the beginnings of guilt building up inside his frame when, finally, Mikey moved again. "That's what the pillow is for," He explained, determination in his eyes.</p>
<p>A soft vent left Donatello, but he chose to humor his brother. The metal turtle moved towards his old bed and sat down on the edge. Mikey grinned and scuttled over with his pillow and duct tape in hand. The younger turtle immediately set to work with taping the pillow to Donnie's metal plastron. After a few moments of working, the artist took a step back to admire his work. </p>
<p>"Perfect," he hummed, tired features lighting up. If he could smile, Donnie would be wearing a soft grin. "Alright, Dee. Get settled."</p>
<p>Donnie turned his helm, quickly spotting his recharge cable. "Just give me a second." 23 seconds, to be exact, but Mikey didn't need to hear his constant numbers and calculations. Not this late, at least.</p>
<p>With the cable now in hand, Donnie ducked his helm and inserted the end of it into an open port on the back of his helm. His optics flashed brightly before dimming back to their normal brightness. He glanced at Mikey, optic half lidded. </p>
<p>"You sure you want to sleep with me?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, Dee. I am," Came Mikey's reply. </p>
<p>Another vent left Donnie as he settled down onto his side. He rested his helm against the pillow, but it didn't really matter anyway. It's not like he could feel it, after all. It wasn't long before Mikey clambered into bed next to him. The smaller turtle wiggled his way into Don's metal arms and pressed his forehead into the pillow taped to the larger turtle's plastron. Donnie went stock-still, scared that any movement might hurt his little brother somehow. But, after running a few, silent, calculations, he decided it was safe to wrap his arms around Mikey and pull him closer. He rested his chin against the top of Mikey's head as his optics dimmed. </p>
<p>"Comfortable?" </p>
<p>"Yep, Mikey whispered. Donnie could practically hear the younger's smile.</p>
<p>"Alright, I'm powering down, then. Wake me up if you need anything," Donnie replied. </p>
<p>The only response he got was a soft hum. Don rumbled something quietly before his lights flickered out as he went into recharge.</p>
<p>Mikey just smiled and held onto his brother tighter as he drifted off into sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Here's a link to Robot Don's reference sheet, if anyone is interested!</p>
<p>https://lapisdraws01.tumblr.com/post/628662806266413056/so-um-au-where-shredder-manages-to-kill-donnie</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Raph</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's Raph's turn to check on his younger brother.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you ship T-Cest, then get off my profile immediately. You are not wanted here.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It hadn't been a good day. Raph could tell that much. Donnie had been in his lab for most of the day, and any time Raph passed by the room, he could hear his brother testing his voice. From what he could gather, it sounded like Donnie was trying to perfect his modulated voice. Any attempts by the family to get Don to leave his lab was met with a vague wave of his metallic hand.</p><p>Raph let out a soft sigh before stepping into the lab. "Don? You doin' okay?"</p><p>The metal turtle, unsurprisingly, seemed to know that he was there before he had entered. It probably had something to do with Donnie's sensors and connection to the Lair's systems. </p><p>"Yeah," He replied, though his voice sounded a bit off. Donnie seemed to notice this and immediately stuck a screw driver into a port on his neck. </p><p>"What are ya doin'?" Raph shifted closer. He couldn't keep the worry from his voice.</p><p>"Fixing my voice modulator. I'm trying to make it sound more realistic," The robot explained as he continued adjusting his voice. </p><p>"Oh." Raph fidgeted with his hands in a nervous fashion. "You should take a break. You've been at this all day." </p><p>Donnie's optic narrowed, displaying his lack of amusement. He finally turned around to face Raph. "I can't. I almost have this figured out," he explained. </p><p>Raph frowned and fell silent. Donnie went back to working on his voice. After about five minutes, the older turtle decided on what to do. </p><p>"Donnie, as your leader, and older brother, I order you to take a break," Raph demanded, crossing his arms with an almost smug look on his face.</p><p>A deep vent left Don as he pressed a metal palm to his forehelm. "No, Raph. Your role as leader does not put you at a high enough authoritative level to where you can order me to stop working." He turned away from his brother, optics dimming.</p><p>This was not the way Raph had seen things play out in his mind. Why did he have to be so bad at plans? Now that that choice of action had failed, he decided on a new one: winging it. </p><p>Raph stepped forwards and wrapped his arms around the underside of Donnie's. Before the metal turtle could protest, he was being lifted out of his seat and into Raph's arms. Which was... Obviously not very well thought out. Donnie weighed a lot more than he used to..... </p><p>"Raph, what are you-?!" Donnie squirmed in his brother's grasp, though he had to make a conscious effort to not accidentally pinch Raph with his joints. </p><p>"You're takin' a break," Raph replied with a smug grin. He had to mask his huffs and puffs as he waddled out into the living room and set Donnie down onto the couch. "We're gonna watch some Jupiter Jim, and you're gonna like it."</p><p>Donnie immediately moved to make a run for it, but Raph managed to grab his metal hand last second. With a squeak of dismay, Don was pulled back onto the couch where Raph pulled him against his side. </p><p>"Raph," Donnie whined, optics focused on the older turtle. </p><p>"Hey, don't argue. You can't keep working at something that's obviously upsetting you. We'll watch one movie, then you can go back to work," Raph explained as he started up said movie. </p><p>Donnie fell silent at that. As the opening credits started to play, he found himself relaxing into Raphael's side. Despite the fight he had put up earlier, he was actually happy to just sit and watch a movie with his brother. His voice could wait until later. </p><p>Raph had a small smile on his face as he watch Donnie's lights dim from the corner of his eye. "See? This ain't so bad, right?" </p><p>Don let out a small vent. "I guess not," he mumbled as he rested his helm against Raph's plastron. </p><p>By the end of the movie, Raph had fallen asleep with an arm around Donnie's frame. The metal turtled wanted to get back to work, but couldn't bring himself to wake Raph. So, he shut his optics and silently combed through his coding as Raph snored away. </p><p>Maybe it hadn't been a good day, but this break certainly made up for it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Here's a link to Robot Don's reference sheet, if anyone is interested!</p><p>https://lapisdraws01.tumblr.com/post/628662806266413056/so-um-au-where-shredder-manages-to-kill-donnie</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Leo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Raph and Mikey have spent time with Donnie. Now, it's Leo's turn!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you ship T-Cest, then get off my profile immediately. You are not wanted here.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leo knocked lightly against the wall to Donnie's room before entering. He ducked past the curtain that served as his brother's door and smiled widely. </p><p>"Hey! How's my favorite robo-bro doing?" Leo's eyes fell onto Donnie, who had apparently just come back online after a recharge if the cables he pulled out of the back of his helm had anything to say about it.</p><p>Donnie's voice hiccupped before springing to life. "What do you want, Leo?"</p><p>Leo sauntered over to his brother, smile still on his face. "Listen, I know you don't really eat anymore," He started. The statement earned a minor flinch from Donnie, much to his surprise. "So, I figured you might like some company while the others eat?"</p><p>Donnie turned, rolling his optic, to replace his charging cord back in it's place. "I don't need you to babysit me, Leo. I'm perfectly capable of going about my mornings without you watching me." He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he missed breakfast time more than he ever thought he would. Never again would he be able to taste a fresh pot of coffee; instead, his memory bank simply supplied him with a memory on what coffee tasted like. It was... disappointing to know he would only ever remember the taste.</p><p>"I'm not here to babysit," Leo insisted. At some point, he must have invaded Donnie's personal space because there was an arm around his shoulders now. "I just wanna hang with my twin, y'know?"</p><p>Twin... They had never really been twins in the first place, but at least they had been in the same genus before. Now.....? It hurt to think about. Donnie decided to ignore that particular thought process for the time being. He simply let out a vent and gestured for Leo to follow. The metal turtle led his brother into his lab, where he started pulling out a few different projects and tools, absentmindedly. Donnie hadn't started any new projects since his... accident. Everything he had been working on as of late was either old, or it was additions and fixes to his current body.</p><p>"Soooo... What are we working on?" Leo sat himself down on the edge of one of Donnie's work benches.</p><p>"Haven't decided yet," Donnie piped back. He sorted through a few different tools, checking over each one to make sure they were still in good shape. His fingers suddenly grazed across something small and rectangular. Perplexed, Don peered down at whatever it was that he had just touched. </p><p>A flashdrive- no, a memory card was sitting beneath his metal fingers. A label on it read "S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.". Donnie immediately recoiled from the drive with visible panic. He let out a shaky vent and settled himself on the floor- far away from the table and the memory card. Leo was moving, obviously concerned. He sat down next to Donnie and rested a hand against his brother's metal forearm.</p><p>"Don," Leo tried, smile from before replaced with a small frown. When he didn't receive a reply, he gently nudged Donnie's arm. "Donnie? Come back to me, bro."</p><p>Finally, Donnie tilted his helm towards Leo. "Y-Yeah. 'M here." His voice sounded tighter than it had been before.</p><p>"What happened? You sorta freaked out back there," Leo questioned, voice gentle. </p><p>Donnie peered off to the side, optic half lidded. He gave a small shrug, but was otherwise still. Curious, Leo stood up and strode over to the table. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary... It took a few minutes for Leo to spot what had caused Donnie to panic. Sympathy washed over the red eared slider as he turned to his brother. </p><p>"It wasn't your fault," Leo said, eyes forcefully locking with Donnie's.</p><p>"Don't patronize me," Donnie spat, optic narrowing as he crossed his arms tightly against his plastron. "I've seen the footage. It was in his memory banks."</p><p>Leo slowly made his way back over to Donnie. "Don, it was his choice. It wasn't your fault," He repeated.</p><p>Donnie let out a dark chuckle, though Leo could hear the hurt implications behind it. "Wasn't my fault, huh?!" Don was suddenly on his feet. "I got myself killed, Leo! Killed! Shelldon would never have needed to sacrifice himself if I hadn't died!" He jabbed a metal finger into Leo's chest, optics bright with anguish. "His memory banks were corrupted the moment my memories overwrote his! It's one hundred percent my fault!"</p><p>Leo's gaze softened. He quietly took Donnie's hand into his own as he noticed the way his brother was shaking. "Don, he wouldn't have wanted you to blame yourself," Leo pressed. Donnie seemed to deflate at that. "He cared about you- just like the rest of us do. He wanted to give you another chance at life."</p><p>A shaky vent left Donnie as he all but collapsed into Leo's arms. He brother struggled with the sudden weight thrown against him, but he managed to stay standing. "I miss him," He whispered, optics dim. "I haven't even been able to think about rebuilding him. Every time I get near his corrupted memory files..."</p><p>Leo tightened his grip on Donnie. "Listen. You gotta take your time. Things don't need to be taken care of right away."</p><p>Surprisingly, Donnie nodded in agreement. Leo hadn't been expecting a response. He felt a small smile form on his face as he held his brother, happy to stay in the embrace until Donnie decided he'd had enough.</p><p>"Thank you." It was whispered and almost non-existent, but Leo just barely heard it.</p><p>"No problem, brother." </p><p>Donnie finally pulled himself out from the hug and rubbed nervously at his neck. Obviously, he was embarrassed by that overly large show of emotion.</p><p>Leo gave him a comforting smile. "Hey, I know what we can do! You can show me how the drill is coming along!"</p><p>Donnie let out a deep vent and rolled his optics, but Leo caught the way he seemed to brighten at the change in subject. "It's still in beta, Leo."</p><p>"Well, maybe it's time to take it out of beta!" </p><p>The two spent the rest of the day chatting and working on various projects together.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Here's a link to Robot Don's reference sheet, if anyone is interested!</p><p>https://lapisdraws01.tumblr.com/post/628662806266413056/so-um-au-where-shredder-manages-to-kill-donnie</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. April</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>April hasn't been able to spend much time with her best friend since he got his new body.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you ship T-Cest, then get off my profile immediately. You are not wanted here.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>April had asked for him to spend the weekend with her at her apartment, since her parents were out of town- again. Of course, he had agreed. After all, he hadn't really had much time to spend with April since The Incident.</p><p>The two had been sitting, quietly, in April's living room for about an hour now. Donnie had started looking through security camera files from the past few days in an attempt to catch up on everything he had missed. It wasn't long before he came across a certain security file.. Curiosity immediately set in. Donnie didn't remember dying. Logically, he knew it happened- after all, he was in a robot body. But, his memory files only booted back to before they had left the Lair that day. With a soft vent, Donnie pressed play on the video. </p><p>"All my tech is standing high- and I mean all of my tech."</p><p>April immediately looked up, eyes wide. "Donnie, I don't think y-"</p><p>"Eat science!" </p><p>Donnie watched as Shredder destroyed his tech in one blow. If he still had a stomach, Donnie was certain it would have dropped. April was in his peripheral now, but he couldn't bring himself to take his optics off the video as Shredder suddenly lunged for him on-screen. Those massive claws downed him in an instant and immediately began tearing, viciously, though his battle shell. The beast had ignored his screams as blood stained its claws. a primal roar left the metal monster as Don's body fell lifelessly to the floor.</p><p>Donnie dropped the tablet. His metal hands shook violently along with the rest of his frame. Knowing you had died was one thing, but actually watching it? Despite his lack of a stomach, Donnie still felt like he was going to throw up. He stared intently at the floor as the video replayed over and over in his processor. A choked sound left him as he all but curled into himself.</p><p>"-o---e"</p><p>He offlined his optics in an attempt to get away from the video. It didn't help.</p><p>"-onn-e"</p><p>He could feel his plating heating up in distress, though it wasn't anywhere near hot enough to burn someone. </p><p>"Donnie!"</p><p>April's voice suddenly cut through the loud thoughts that circled Don's mind. His helm jerked up, optics flickering to life as he moved to pinpoint April's voice; however, he found her much sooner than expected, given she was sitting right in front of him with her hands on his shoulders. </p><p>"Dee, you with me?" April's eyes held a seriousness to them, but Donnie could tell she was incredibly worried.</p><p>He gave her a small nod in response, not trusting his vocalizer to stay steady.</p><p>A soft sigh of relief left April as she suddenly pulled him in for a hug. "You had me worried there," She mumbled, only holding on for a short second before pulling away.</p><p>"S-Sorry," Donnie whispered. He rebooted his vocalizer. "That was... worse than I was expecting.."</p><p>April frowned, features softening. "You shouldn't have watched it, but.. I guess you would have seen it one way or another.." She peered off to the side, eyes looking suspiciously wet.</p><p>"April?" He reached for her with a shaking hand, but she ended up meeting half way and took his hand into her own.</p><p>"'M fine. Just.." A weak chuckle left her. "It's been bothering me, y'know? I was too far away to do anything, but I still watched it all go down. Maybe if I had been a bit faster..."</p><p>Despite his lack of basic facial features, Donnie still managed to look upset by April's words. He tried to speak, but she continued before he had the chance. </p><p>"That entire ordeal has been plaguing me for days. Watching you die... It was horrible, Dee. I thought... I had thought I'd lost my best friend..." April wrung her hands nervously. Donnie pretended to not notice the tear that rolled down her cheek. </p><p>"I'm sorry," He finally replied. "I never wanted you to have to... witness something like that. I never wanted any of you to witness something like that." His family didn't like to mention The Incident, but Donnie could still see the sadness in their eyes whenever they looked at him. It hurt more than he could even begin to imagine.</p><p>"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't' have unloaded all this on you, I-"</p><p>Donnie cut her off by placing his free hand on her shoulder. "April," He started, gaze stern. "It's fine. I'm-" He peered off to the side, awkwardness creeping in. Emotions weren't his forte. "I'm glad you told me."</p><p>April eyes him for a moment before removing her glasses and drying her eyes. Once she put her glasses back on, she gave him a weak smile. Donnie simply tilted his helm in return- his current version of a smile.</p><p>"Listen, Dee. If you ever pull a stunt like that again, you better be ready for me to grab your sorry turtle butt and bring you back to the living again," April threatened as she pulled Donnie back into another hug.</p><p>Donnie relaxed into her arms and rested his chin on April's shoulder. "I think it says a lot that I genuinely believe that statement."</p><p>April snorted, a smile finally reforming on her face. "It does," She replied, warmly. </p><p>Another soft vent left Donnie as he caught sight of his discarded tablet in his peripheral. "Remind me to never watch that video again, alright?"</p><p>April nodded before breaking the hug. "I will," She promised. </p><p>Don nodded, thankful that he could count on April to keep his stupid curiosity from making him watch it again.</p><p>"Hey, how about we start a movie marathon? It'll help take our mind of things."</p><p>Donnie perked up at that. "Sure, why not. Have anything in mind?"</p><p>"I seem to remember you mentioning that you've never seen the Jurassic Park movies...," April hummed, brow raised. </p><p>"You would be correct."</p><p>"Perfect! We'll watch that!" </p><p>They settled in on the couch as the first movie began playing. The rest of the night was filled with Donnie's words of anger and fascination with the movies' genetics and plot.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Here's a link to Robot Don's reference sheet, if anyone is interested!</p><p>https://lapisdraws01.tumblr.com/post/628662806266413056/so-um-au-where-shredder-manages-to-kill-donnie</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Splinter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Almost losing one of your sons is the single most terrifying event in the world. Splinter decides to take some time out of his day to spend with his tech savvy son.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you ship T-Cest, then get off my profile immediately. You are not wanted here.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Splinter entered Donatello's room, he, stupidly, had been expecting the teen to be, asleep, in his bed. Instead, he found a lifeless metal turtle, hunched over in a chair, with a cord attached to the back of it's helm. Splinter froze, expression turning downcast. His son should never have lost his original body. He couldn't help but feel responsible for it. If only he had put more effort into training them.....</p><p>Suddenly, Donnie's lights flickered to life as the robot shifted. He startled at the sight of Splinter, obviously not having expected anyone else to be in the room.</p><p>"Purple," Splinter greeted. "How are you feeling?"</p><p>Donatello blinked as he met Splinter's gaze. "I am functioning at 100%," He recited truthfully. After all, his vitals didn't lie.</p><p>Splinter let out a deep sigh. "You know what I mean."</p><p>Donnie pushed himself to his pedes as he unplugged the cable from the back of his helm and set it aside. "I feel fine," He supplied after a moment of silence. </p><p>Splinter nodded. He could tell his son wasn't telling him everything, but he decided not to push his luck. Donatello had always been more difficult to read and pull emotional information out of than his brothers. Of course, Splinter had picked up quite a few tricks through the years, but they didn't exactly help him with his current situation. How were you supposed to interact with your son, who, technically, had died? This was still Donatello, but his body was vastly different. </p><p>"Did you need something, Dad?" Donnie was watching him with his mismatched optics. </p><p>"No, I suppose not. I just wanted to..." He peered off to the side as he stroked at his chin. "Spend some time with my son."</p><p>Donnie tilted his helm in interest. He could never tell if Splinter was being genuine, or if he just wanted something from him. "You.. do?"</p><p>"Of course!" Splinters 'I could have lost you' went unsaid. </p><p>Donnie tapped his fingertips together eagerly. Splinter certainly sounded genuine this time around. "And you're not just saying that because you want me to do something for you, right?"</p><p>It hurt to know that his son's first instinct was to assume he wanted something. Sure, Splinter usually did want something from Donnie, but that was besides the point. "Correct. I truly wish to spend time with you, my son."</p><p>If he could, Donnie would be smiling. He felt giddy at the idea of hanging out with his father, despite past occurrences telling him not to get his hopes up. "What did you want to do?"</p><p>Splinter thought for a moment, claw tip lightly tapping at his chin. "You mentioned needing to go to the junk yard, yes? I would not mind accompanying you there."</p><p>That was just the cherry on top of the cake. An excited noise left Don's vocalizer as he jolted forwards and pulled his father into a hug. "That's perfect, Dad!"</p><p>Splinter felt a smile form on his face at the hug and enthusiasm. "Perfect. We shall leave immediately."</p><p>And with that, the two left for the junk yard. Donnie was excitedly chattering about all the cool stuff they might find as Splinter followed after his son with a fond smile on his face. The day turned out to be quite prosperous with Donnie and Splinter finding over half of the items on the metal turtle's list of needed materials. The sun was starting to rise by the time they finally left the junk yard. </p><p>"Thanks for coming with me today, Dad," Donnie commented, optics bright. </p><p>"Of course, Purple." </p><p>Splinter slowed his pace, which Donatello quickly took notice of and copied until they came to a stop. </p><p>"Dad?" He asked, helm tilted his confusion. </p><p>"Listen. We... I almost lost you. I am so incredibly thankful that you're still here, with us." Splinter rubbed at his arm, embarrassed by his sudden heart-to-heart. "I know things are hard for you right now, and I understand if you need space from time to time, but please know that we love you." Splinter took a deep breath, eyes starting to water. "I love you, Donatello."</p><p>Donnie froze, unsure of how to react as he processed his father's words. Somehow, his mechanical features managed to soften as he knelt down to Splinter's level. "Thanks, Dad," He replied, softly, gaze meeting the rat's. </p><p>"I love you all too."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Aaand, that's a wrap! I had a lot of fun writing this fic! Hopefully the characters weren't too ooc! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here's a link to Robot Don's reference sheet, if anyone is interested!</p><p>https://lapisdraws01.tumblr.com/post/628662806266413056/so-um-au-where-shredder-manages-to-kill-donnie</p></blockquote></div></div>
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